It was 2003, forever ago by Internet Standards (such as they are). unrepentant ran his weekly "Friday Pictures" and they were a fun mix of interesting shots and funny captions that made it a great way to start the weekend. I, along with many others from across the 'Net, were fans that showed up religiously, week after week. It had been a little while, though, and the toll of life was weighing heavily on him, and he needed to get stuff done. The Friday pictures were ending.

As I said on January 14, 2004, "someone's got to put their foot down and provide that Friday entertainment. I am that foot."

For almost nine years, I've made a post damn near every Friday full of the weird and the wonderful, the beautiful and the bizarre, the funny and the fabulous, each with a caption meant to make the reader laugh, smile, think, or feel. I've had to skip the occasional day, but that's still something like 450 posts over close to a decade.

It's been fun, scouring the 'Net for pictures that I think would be good to include. Many sites, I check regularly, knowing they are good sources. I've had many a shot sent to me by loyal readers and friends. I know of people that have given up on LJ, but who check back each week for the Friday Pix, and that makes me feel pretty good. I'm glad to have provided amusement for people this way. However, I've noticed that the Friday Pix is starting to become more and more work. It's not the pic-finding, it's just the time. My life is in a different place, and I just don't have nearly as much time to find those pics much less to get them arranged, re-sized, and posted. I've thought about this for a while, and it's time to shut the doors on this one.

I hope I've helped many a weekend get started on the right note, and I want to give thanks to all those that have enjoyed the posts over the years. Comments and "likes" have kept me doing it for this long, and it makes me happy to know the effort has been enjoyed. If someone else wants to take up the torch, please do.

Thanks for watching, reading, and enjoying The Friday Pix, friends. It's been a swell ride.

Thank YOU! I remember when you started the Pix, and I've always marveled at the amount of work you must have put into them each week. It's been a blast, and trust me, I've many a pic saved to my computer from those fabulous posts.

Thank you for the selfless act of helping people start their weekend on a positive note for so long! You are kind-hearted person and I am glad that I was able to become friends with you because a friend sent me a link once years ago. :)

I'm toying with the idea of opening a new Tumblr and just posting as i find pix, instead of the once-weekly lump post. It'd give me the pic-posting outlet without the chore of doing a huge thing every Friday. Thoughts?